MINNEAPOLIS – It’s been three years (almost to the day) since artist Michael Gaughan’s last exhibition at Burnet Gallery. In contrast to his 2012 works in “Buck Turbo” that he described as visual stand-up comedy, Gaughan regards his latest works in “Florescent Glaucoma in a Christmas Terrarium” as far more improvisational and fearless.

“These works are different in that I’ve given myself permission to incorporate the randomness and uncertainty of the medium,” explains Gaughan. “I’ve taken a far more intuitive approach, allowing the work to respond to itself and evolve naturally versus executing a very specific idea. I’m also using a lot more color and filling up the composition.”

What hasn’t changed about Gaughan’s vivid watercolors are his bold, vividly precise use of the medium, and his high energy sense of fun. “I want to create a euphoric, positive sensation for the viewer,” states Gaughan.

These qualities are clearly in evidence in “Burst,” a 47-inch by 35-inch watercolor on paper that depicts a hyper-colored close up of the boughs of a bedecked Christmas tree. It’s one of about 30 pieces that make up Gaughan’s solo exhibition.

The opening reception for “Florescent Glaucoma in a Christmas Terrarium” is Sat., July 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The show runs through Aug. 30, 2015. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and by appointment.

Michael Gaughan www.michael-gaughan.com has an MFA in Painting from San Francisco Art Institute, a BFA in Painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and an MEd in Art Education from the University of Minnesota. He has been a visiting artist at the Walker Art Center and at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, and has been a visiting lecturer at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Maryland Institute College of Art. He has exhibited his paintings in numerous group and solo shows including Burnet Gallery in Minneapolis, Deitch Projects at Art Basel Miami, Deplayer in Rotterdam, and Portland Institute for Contemporary Arts in Oregon, the Joshua Liner Gallery and Ace Hotel both in New York City, as well as the Soap Factory, Soo Vac Gallery, Co-Exhibitions, and Familia Skateshop all in Minneapolis.

He has been interviewed and featured in The Onion A/V Club, Beautiful Decay, Popular Mechanic, Make, City Pages, Irish American News, 89.3 the Current, and Radio K. He has made illustrations for Burton, Nike, American Apparel, Rhymesayers Entertainment Weekly, Jagjaguwar Records, Troma Films, CityPages, and other musical arts, magazines, and film projects.

Gaughan has orchestrated over ten city-wide scavenger hunts as performance art/public art. He collaborated with larger institutions to create larger scale, more accessible scavenger hunts when he was a visiting artist at the Walker Art Center 2007, at the University of Minnesota 2007, and at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art 2008.

Burnet Gallery www.burnetgallery.com is a commercial gallery showcasing works by a wide array of international, national and local contemporary artists. The gallery is located in Le Méridien Chambers, an award-winning art hotel in downtown Minneapolis.

Considered one of the top boutique art hotels in the world, Le Méridien Chambers features more than 250 pieces of original contemporary art throughout the public areas as well as the hotel’s 60 guest rooms. Located at 901 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, Minn., it offers a unique combination of art, culinary, design and true boutique hotel experience. www.lemeridienchambers.com

Hovering in the Void explores how artists Joel Jannetto and Jesse Ruiz use bold colors and textures in their work to translate the energy of both subject and object. Each artist infuses the characters within their pieces with life by layering materials and allowing the spaces in between to create otherworldly environments.

Joel Jannetto’s paintings are layer upon layer of manic clusters of scribbled lines scattered across flat sections of color or negative space. His subjects are a sum of visible, unblended forms; multitudes formulating depth, alien environments undulating with color, energy and life. Creatures emerge from these abstracted picture planes; the marks and shapes become puzzle pieces forced into forms. The resulting creatures look deformed and disturbing, and the surrounding marks become their living history. Jannetto process reveals to the viewer “the heavy, twisted skeleton behind his work.”

Jesse Ruiz creates her paintings with foam cushions; everyday objects and detritus intermingled with traditional painting materials. Her work opens up a dialogue about the ontology of objects from everyday life. Each piece is a foam-encased outline of a stuffed animal augmented with layers of mixed media. These objects are sneaky and hidden, fast and humorous. Ruiz rejects creating meaning from strict representation, instead she catalogs and materializes “all the meanings and images that have already existed and have already been consumed and destroyed”.

Jannetto is a recent graduate of Winona State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art, focusing in painting. Joel recently had a solo exhibition at Rochester Contemporary Art Center. This will be his first exhibition in Minneapolis.

Ruiz graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison this year where she received her MFA. Before that she received a BA from Barnard College-Columbia University with an emphasis in philosophy. She has received several distinctions for her work including the AAF/Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts and a residency at Inside-Out Artist Colony in Beijing. This will be her first exhibition in Minneapolis.

Shannon Estlund & Aaron Squadroni Terra Incognita

Aug 8 - Sep 5, 2015 Reception: Sat Aug 8 6pm - 9pm

Terra Incognita, the Latin translation of unknown lands, pairs the paintings of Shannon Estlund and the drawings of Aaron Squadroni.

Terra Incognita, the Latin translation of unknown lands, pairs the paintings of Shannon Estlund and the drawings of Aaron Squadroni. Both artists explore how landscapes are transmutable narrative histories, revealing human impact through an ever altering terrain. Terra Incognita also references how the phrase is used metaphorically to describe any unexplored subject or field of research, in this case how traces and disruptions in land forms develop into chronicles of human existence.

Shannon Estlund’s paintings consist of a multitude of layers, alternating between thick and thin applications, creating the illusion of spatial depth in order to present the viewer with a distant potential destination. Her landscapes are accumulations of overlapping and contradictory information focusing on natural spaces that do not represent the ideal, destinations that are hidden or difficult to access. These locations tend to be overlooked areas near dirt roads and houses but outside of everyday human use. Estlund describes her subject matter as “spaces that are both real and imaginary, that are complex and difficult to move through, and function both as instances of actual sensory experience and metaphors for decisive moments in everyday life.”

Aaron Squadroni’s work is a series of copper drawn land portraits. These land portraits record a history of landmarks and sacred spaces based on traditional legends, government treaties, current disputes, and future visions. He is documenting the significant changes that have or will occur in the Mesabi Iron Range. The series specifically focuses on the Kawishiwi River that flows over the Duluth Complex, a region in contention as mining companies are in the process of obtaining permits and conducting environmental impact studies in order to mine the area for copper, nickel and other precious metals. This catalog of imagery is meant to heighten public awareness about how the future of Minnesota’s landscape will take shape, while simultaneously preserving its identity in the past.

Shannon Estlund recently received her MFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She teaches at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and Augsburg. Her work will be featured in an upcoming New American Paintings issue and has received numerous grants in support of her work. Estlund has exhibited extensively in Jacksonville, Boston and Minneapolis.

Aaron Squadroni lives and works in Coleraine, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Masters degree in Architecture and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Itasca Community College. Aaron has received several grants in support of his work including the Jerome Planning Grant from Forecast Public Art. This will be his first gallery exhibition in the Twin Cities.